My YA fantasy’s cover has major Arizona Diamondbacks vibes
Not sure if the artist meant to, but The Arcane Prophecy’s cover screams old-school Arizona Diamondbacks. And I’m here for it.
As a D-backs fan, this is the coolest cover that 100 Covers designed for me.
Rarely does a cover for Book I look like a surefire winner regardless of who your artist is, since there’s a lot of mystery involved there. But wow, this one gave me everything, from small-town YA fantasy vibes to a character who looks just like my protagonist, Yote Diamondback.
Maybe the artist saw the connection and injected D-back concepts into it, but if not, it was a damn good call.
Over at Chris Creamer’s Sports Logos, you’ll see old D-backs logos and wordmarks. And when you take another look at my cover, the nods go far beyond the colors.
See how the first and last letters in the word ‘Prophecy’ are larger? That’s reminiscent of the D-backs’ old official wordmark. Other wordmarks that said ‘Arizona’ on the uniform once had an ‘A’ that curled into a snake’s fang toward the bottom left. Something you can also see in the word “Arcane.”
And see how ‘A Young Adult Academy Fantasy’ is boxed in? That’s reminiscent of the original wordmark, too.
Arizona Diamondbacks vibes before the cover unveiled
From the minute I made Yote Diamondback’s name recognize Arizona sports teams, or one former (Arizona Coyotes) and a current team, the D-backs stood front and center. But it was more than just Arizona sports.
I’ve mentioned this so many times that it’s dried out, but I wrote The Arcane Prophecy with a protagonist who’d be a Slytherin in Harry Potter. You may not think Yote comes across as one, but she’s got a sly, cunning demeanor, especially when she wants to know something.
Yote’s also got a thing for snakes, and she’s resourceful to a fault. She shows an ambitious streak and even throws a few more hints I won’t give away that further drive the Slytherin point home.
I also gave each character in the work more sinister, villainous names, so Diamondback was the perfect fit for her last name.
D-backs vibes don’t stop with the cover
While I was thinking of the Arizona Coyotes when I created Yote’s school within Arcane, Scorpii, its nickname, Venom, also came from the D-backs as a nod to their secondary logo. The one that shows off those dangerous snake fangs.
A scorpion, not a snake, is Scorpii’s official logo. But Scorpions was one of the finalists for the Name the Team contest that Diamondbacks took first prize in. Other choices were the Phoenix, Rattlers, and Coyotes.
And I’m sure I’ll have even more D-back vibes coming up, not only in The Arcane Prophecy, but throughout the Arcane Elemental Academy series.
Want to see where Yote Diamondback’s story really begins? Grab the prequel novella Arcane Awakenings for free and step into the world of the Arcane Elemental Academy before The Arcane Prophecy kicks off.
